Chapter 11: The Plan
Reddington sighed. "I really hate to do this. But I suppose I have no choice. Phone." He held out his hand to Zim.
Zim fished through his pockets until he came up with Dembe's old phone. Reddington snatched it and entered a phone number.
While he did that, Keen and Ressler had Aram on speakerphone. They had him working on a way to hack Wells's nuclear core. "Sorry, guys. The firewall on this thing is a monster."
"Can you at least get how much time we have left before it blows?" Ressler asked.
"I'm working on it."
"Glen," Reddington said into his own phone. "Yes, yes." Pause. "No." Pause. "NO." He gritted his teeth and balled up his free hand. "Shut up for just a minute, you fucking weasel! Listen. Do you have that ship still?"
"I think I got a timer," Aram said. "Gimme another minute."
"Good. Where are you located?" Reddington said. "Okay, good. I'm on Cutthroat Island." Pause. "Yes, that Cutthroat Island."
"Oh shit," Aram said. "You only have fifteen minutes before this thing turns that place into Chernobyl."
"Goddammit, Glen!" Reddington yelled. "This is an emergency! We need you here immediately!" Pause. He glanced over to all the winnings on the table and floor that were never going to be collected by the owners. "Very well, Glen. That sounds like a reasonable price. But hurry. We have only fifteen minutes left to handle this."
"Fourteen," Keen said.
"Fourteen, then. Hurry up, Glen." He hung up and handed the phone back to Zim. "We only have one shot at this. I need you to help me carry Wells out to the docks. Luckily Glen was planning something involving this place, so he's not that far. When he gets here, we need to get this on the ship and send him to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. Is that clear?"
"Why can't he do it?" Zim pointed to Ressler.
"Because Keen and Ressler are going to be our backup. I expect that there are other guards here that are waiting for us to exit this room. The agents going to be busy covering us. Does that satisfy your ill-timed curiosity?"
Zim gave a tremendous sigh. "Fine."
Ressler and Keen already took up positions at the main door. "When you're ready," she said.
Reddington took Wells's shoulders, Zim the legs. "Ready."
The agents kicked the doors open and started laying down cover fire. Reddington and Zim hobbled out of the room with Wells between them, bullets zipping all around them. Just when Keen and Ressler had to reload, the guards came out from their corners and took aim. Zim screamed and held Wells up to cover him.
"Zim, you idiot!" Reddington said. "DON'T SHOOT! Please do not shoot the nuclear device we're carrying!"
For a moment it looked like they thought it was a bluff. But it was hard to hide the glowing core in Wells's chest. That was all they needed; they backed away and let them pass.
Reddington and Zim burst through the door to the outside world. They ran to the dock and saw the ship approaching, a smaller boat making its way to the docks.
"How much time do we have left?" Reddington asked.
"I don't know," Zim said.
"NOT. YOU. I'm talking to Brandon and Fitz."
"Aram says twelve minutes," Fitz said.
The boat hit the dock, and Reddington and Zim put Wells's corpse in it. Zim backed away, ready to get the fuck out of this situation. Reddington grabbed him by the neck. "Not so fast." And he threw Zim into the boat before getting in, himself.
"We're gonna fucking die!" Zim yelled.
"I don't intend to die," Reddington said. "I hope you do, though."
They made their way to the bigger ship, and a chain lowered to them. The boatman said, "Glen wants us to tie this chain around this guy."
Reddington and Zim worked quickly to do this while the boatman produced a giant lock. When the chains were in place, he locked them tight.
"Now toss him overboard."
They did, but Wells floated.
"Fuck," Zim said.
"Patience," the boatman said. A giant steel weight dropped from above and splashed down hard enough to cover them all with water. The weight yanked Wells down, and he disappeared into the dark waters.
"Time?" Reddington asked.
Zim opened his mouth, but the stern look on Reddington's face made him close it.
"Nine minutes," Fitz said.
The boat was already being lifted up to the top of the ship. Glen was there to greet them, grinning, twiddling the thumbs on his short arms. "Reddington! Twice in two days! It's my lucky day."
"Just get us as far from here as possible."
"Not so fast. What about the money?"
"Glen, I don't have your fucking money right now. It's still in the casino. If we don't get away from here quickly enough, you won't survive to be paid."
"Since you put it that way . . ."
The ship charged away from where they'd dropped Wells's body, and they moved very fast.
"You've got three minutes left," Brandon said.
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Reddington asked.
"We're already three miles from where we dropped that dead guy," Glen said. "We'll be okay."
"Probably," Fitz said.
Later: "You have less than a minute," Brandon said. "I'd hold onto something."
Everyone did as they were told. Soon Fitz counted down from ten. Then five. Then three. "Two. One. Zero."
Something in the distance detonated, and suddenly they could see through the dark waters fairly clearly. Then the water rose in a giant tsunami. Waves as tall as mountains rose before them.
"Oh shit," Reddington said.
"You're telling me," Glen said. "I shouldn't have come. I got greedy."
Reddington snarled, and it looked like he was about to strangle Glen to death. And then the wave came crashing down, capsizing the ship.
TO BE CONCLUDED!
